There are a few aspects that have been underwhelming for the Edmonton Oilers so far, but perhaps none of them compares to the powerless power play.
That atypically bad special team is arguably the biggest reason why the Oilers are 2-4 through six games.
The Oilers were 0-for-2 in their 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday. That leaves a Leon Draisaitl goal late in a defeat to Chicago as the only goal they’ve scored in that situation this season.
They’re operating at a dismal 6.7 percent.
“We’ll evaluate and we’ll look at it,” coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters in Dallas. “We’re at the point where we’ve got to be considering making some adjustments to it. Every power play’s going to go through a stretch of not scoring, but we’ve gone six games in now and we’re 1-for-15.
“I’m not sure it’s something we do right away, but it’s certainly something that’s on our minds.”
A power-play goal sure could have provided a spark in Dallas.
There were issues with the Oilers’ performance in a rematch of the Western Conference final that saw Edmonton move on in six games. The Oilers carried the play for much of the first two periods on Saturday before fading in the third.
Stuart Skinner probably should have had the first Stars goal, a Matt Duchene wrister on a power play in the last minute of the second frame. Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm improperly played a two-on-two rush, resulting in Duchene’s second goal. The Oilers got running around in their own zone and blew a coverage, which allowed Roope Hintz to make it 3-0.
The game was over just past the 13-minute mark of the last period after a pair of Dallas tallies came 1:10 apart.
Blame the defensive miscues, but it’s hard to win a game when scoring just once — a goal that came at six-on-five with 2:22 left in regulation no less.
Drai denies the shutout #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/Jnfon9BB6p
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 19, 2024
Stars goalie Jake Oettinger factored into that lack of production for the Oilers. He was excellent in the Dallas net, making 30 saves. But he wasn’t tested much when Edmonton had the man advantage.
“We would have liked to have been better on those power plays,” winger Zach Hyman said.
The Oilers mustered four shots on Oettinger there — two by Bouchard and one each from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. That actually represents an increase in quantity given the Oilers had just 14 shots in five games in that scenario before Saturday.
Therein lies one of the biggest problems with the Oilers power play. Add in Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to the big three of McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard, and there’s so much talent among the first-unit group. The players are being too selfless, too cute and looking for the perfect tap-in attempt rather than riffling the puck toward the net.
For McDavid and Bouchard to have two and three power-play shots through six games just isn’t enough. Not when one guy has scored 64 goals in a season and the other has a bomb of a blast that few in the league can come close to matching.
The Oilers need more from their power play to help move the needle forward offensively. The Oilers have been effective at five-on-five in terms of creating shooting attempts and scoring chances. However, they’ve netted just eight goals in that situation — and 12 overall.
It’s all very un-Oilers-like.
And that’s just it. It’s hard to believe these power-play woes won’t be anything more than a blip, just a slump that’ll be long forgotten about in a few weeks.
The Oilers have the best aggregate power play in the NHL since assistant Glen Gulutzan started running it to start the 2018-19 season. They’ve ranked ninth, first, first, third, first and fourth in the league, respectively, in those six campaigns. It’s basically won them a playoff series like the Los Angeles matchup in April.
With the firepower and creativity on that first unit, it’s possible — even likely — that they’ll simply break out. McDavid and Draisaitl are two of the most dominant power-play producers of their era. Bouchard can wire the puck. Hyman is perfect for his role at the net front. Nugent-Hopkins can gain the zone effectively, provide options along the left side and has a tremendous wrister.
The clock is ticking, though. Despite their track record and abundance of skill, Knoblauch and Gulutzan are wisely considering changes. What could they be, exactly?
Well, McDavid and Draisaitl are untouchables on that first unit. It would be a stretch to think 39-year-old Corey Perry can replace Hyman in front of the goalie given Hyman is coming off a 70-goal output between the regular season and playoffs. There is no replacement for Bouchard with due respect to his five-on-five partner Ekholm and Darnell Nurse, who’s quarterbacked the power play in a pinch before.
That just leaves Nugent-Hopkins. Though it might seem surprising to remove someone who recorded 104 points the season before last, the Oilers have someone on the roster who should be able to fulfill Nugent-Hopkins’ duties. Offseason signee Jeff Skinner has the makeup to do what Nugent-Hopkins has done on the power play. He could be exactly the tonic this unit needs right now in that he’s a six-time 30-goal scorer and has more of a shoot-first mindset than the longest-serving Oiler.
Failing that, the coaching staff might need to give the second unit more opportunity — something Knoblauch said during training camp that he wanted to do this season.
The combination of Ekholm, Nurse, Skinner, Perry and Viktor Arvidsson have played roughly five minutes together of the 28:29 the Oilers have spent on the power play. That’s not enough to draw any conclusions given they’ve gotten dribs and drabs of ice time through six games. They haven’t even recorded a shot on goal much less one getting past a goalie.
Whatever the case, something must happen here. Because the best collective weapon the Oilers have can’t continue to look so inept for much longer.
(Photo of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid: Tim Heitman / Imagn Images)
